I have an 87 Grand Prix, a 5.7" rod 383 shortblock (zero-decked, hypereutectic flat-tops, externally balanced), a 2004R with a 2800-ish lockup 9 1/2" converter, either 3.73 or 4.10 gears (I have both available) and a posi in a 7.5" rear, a 750 Holley vacuum sec. carb w/ elec. choke, a Performer RPM intake, 1 5/8" #2451 Hooker headers, 2.5" TorqueTech exhaust with 3 chamber Flowmasters and an H-pipe. The car is all steel and has a/c and everything still on it. I'll be running street tires. I'm trying to decide on a pair of heads and a cam. I'm not looking to spend a bunch of money on retro-fit hyd. rollers or real trick aluminum heads. The car will not be a daily driver, but I'd like it to be real streetable and still run hard. I'm thinking about the Comp Magnum 286H (236 dur @.050", 490" lift, 110 deg lobe sep.) with 1.6" rockers on a set of 72cc 200 runner Dart Iron Eagles. Opinions??????????
Opinion on heads and cam for a street/strip Gbody
- Thread starter speedyjim
- Start date
I would try a cam like this
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-K1107/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DRT-11411112P/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-K1107/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/DRT-11411112P/
Pick the heads first. Note that with your flattop pistons you will need the "large chamber" version of whatever heads you choose- in the 70-76cc range, to keep compression low enough to use pump gas. Typical 64cc chamber heads will put you up in the 11:1 range. That means a set of inexpensive Vortecs would not be the choice in this situation.
That being said, here are my picks for out-of-the-box performance aluminum aftermarket heads:
1. Most expensive, but worth it. AFR 195cc intake runner "eliminator" heads. Just the standard street porting level will work fine. Pretty much everything goes fast with AFRs on top. They cost a few hundred more than competitive heads because they're worth it.
2. Trick Flow 195cc intake runner "Kenny Duttweiler" heads. Great choice, good performance, reasonable pricetag.
3. Edlebrock 185cc "E-street" heads. For well under a grand a pair, they offer great bang-for-the-buck in an aftermarket aluminum head. Vic was tired of cheap Chinese-made knock-offs undercutting his venerable "Performer" heads by hundreds of dollars so he gave them a slight rework, renamed them "E-street" and dropped a ton off the pricetag.
Cam choice would be a Comp Cams XE274H or similar. If you want it a little more daily-drivable, go down one notch to the XE268H. You got enough stall and gear to work with the bigger cam so I wouldn't be afraid of the larger cam in this case.
That being said, here are my picks for out-of-the-box performance aluminum aftermarket heads:
1. Most expensive, but worth it. AFR 195cc intake runner "eliminator" heads. Just the standard street porting level will work fine. Pretty much everything goes fast with AFRs on top. They cost a few hundred more than competitive heads because they're worth it.
2. Trick Flow 195cc intake runner "Kenny Duttweiler" heads. Great choice, good performance, reasonable pricetag.
3. Edlebrock 185cc "E-street" heads. For well under a grand a pair, they offer great bang-for-the-buck in an aftermarket aluminum head. Vic was tired of cheap Chinese-made knock-offs undercutting his venerable "Performer" heads by hundreds of dollars so he gave them a slight rework, renamed them "E-street" and dropped a ton off the pricetag.
Cam choice would be a Comp Cams XE274H or similar. If you want it a little more daily-drivable, go down one notch to the XE268H. You got enough stall and gear to work with the bigger cam so I wouldn't be afraid of the larger cam in this case.
speedyjim said:
How hard are you wanting to turn the motor rpm wise...???
Thats where start before deciding "what" head and "what" cam...You say street/strip gotta have a happy medium,but get close to your max performance at the track..
PM me your thoughts and i'll give you mine. 8)
